The aim of the project ‘Foreign professional practice for people with intellectual disabilities - method of preventing social exclusion’ is to send 12 students from vocational school to participate in apprenticeships at Cheltenham in the United Kingdom. This project is comprised of two visits: the first group of 6 participants will commence in October 2016, the second group of 6 participants will commence in June 2017. Participants are students with mental retardation moderate and those with coupled disability: physically impaired, with autism spectrum disorders, and/or visually impaired. They come from disadvantaged backgrounds or families with low incomes who are more likely to be unemployed. An individual programme of apprenticeship is created for each participant, which takes into consideration needs, abilities, individual predispositions, talents and interests. This apprenticeship will be an element of the project agreed by both parties (SOSW no.3 and Bettridge School). This foreign apprenticeship will increase the employability of participants, be a way through to entering the competitive jobs market and it would significantly enhance participant’s CVs. Apprenticeships are a very effective way of integrating people with deeper disability with the society and showing these people in a different perspective. This project helps to understand that people with intelectual disabilities can be full members of society, to make a contribution to its development, and can do tasks that are essential but often reluctantly performed by non-disabled people. The vocational school, which operates as a subsidiary of SOSW no.3, prepares students for employment. Alongside education and therapy the school offers the possibility of undertaking apprenticeship with various employers. In the same time students also participate in a project of professional empowerment, which involves practice in supported employment enterprises under the direction of a "job coach". We believe this is the best way to employ people with intellectual disabilities. Unfortunately there is resistance and fear of disability in our society. There are not many employers ready to hire intellectually disabled people, and able to see the potential these workers have to offer. Not many employers can recognize that giving jobs to intellectually disabled workers is a positive activity, and adds value to their businesses. The foreign apprenticeships offered by us will allow the students to gain additional professional experience. Our aim is that this programme will be a contribution to changes in social legislation in the future, will show that the work performed under the direction of a ‘’job coach" will be more cost effective for the government than the current system, which relies on the payment of pensions to people with intellectual disabilities who leave education. People with intellectual disabilities also have a need to feel needed and appreciated. We want to help them to meet these needs. Through professional work, people with intellectual disabilities will gain autonomy, (autonomy in this case is defined as self-determination within the limits of social conventions). The project has complied with The Council of Europe decision of introducing the concept of "equal opportunities" understood as the process by which various fields of social life and the external environment are becoming accessible to people with disabilities. Additional professional experience gained on the foreign apprenticeship by a participant of this programme will be an asset for the prospective employers, in addition the ‘Europass’ document will certify this apprenticeship. This is why we are running this project for the second time; to show our students different employment approaches, show them that in other countries intellectually disabled people are treated the same as non-disabled employees. Due to the disability of the project participants, individual support is required at every stage of the project. Therefore, it is vital that each student will have their tutor, who also will be their ‘’job coach’’. One of the most important outcomes of this project involves changes (which we observed in the previous participants of the project) in the mindset of some participants. They become more open-minded, active, see new possibilities for themselves, more adaptable, willing to change, and increase their motivation to learn - even foreign languages. Both visits to the UK in October 2016 and June 2017 will be for 6 participants each. During the two weeks, participants will work with the English apprenticeship employers who are established partners with Bettridge School. Each participant will receive a certificate from the employer, certifying a completed apprenticeship and the acquired skills. Upon return we will request for a Europass for each project participant.